Being not only American but also having worked for NASA, I, on more than one occasion, encountered the rallying cry of, “Failure is not an option” – never having really spent too much time thinking about it as the meaning and weight of that phrase were clear to me. While this sentiment aims to inspire determination and perseverance, it can inadvertently propagate a misconception about the role of failure in the journey to success. It wasn’t until I came to Switzerland that I was confronted with this reality of an alternate interpretation that inadvertently squashes the very meaning and power it holds.
After many years of working in an experimental environment, you can imagine my surprise when I was confronted with the statement, “Failure is not an option,” meaning that any setback or failure was unacceptable. No failures would be accepted, not even along the way. Do it. Do it right. And do it right the first time. No pressure, right? The result is a fostering of a fear of taking risks or stepping out of one’s comfort zone. This mindset can stifle innovation and creativity, as individuals and organizations may shy away from exploring new ideas or approaches due to the fear of failure.
So what does “Failure is not an option” mean?
It means that we refuse to accept failure as a final outcome. It is not an option, and we will do whatever it takes to succeed (including failing along the way). We keep trying until we figure it out. Failure is an integral part of the journey to success, but only if we are able to learn and grow from it. Matthew Syed emphasizes throughout his book “Black Box Thinking” the critical importance of failure as a pathway to success.
“Success comes through rapidly fixing our mistakes rather than getting things right the first time.”
– Matthew Syed –
Failures provide valuable feedback that can drive faster incremental improvements and overall innovation. The alternative is to pump a lot of time, energy, and money into the Goliath perfect solution or ignore what is happening around us only to find out it doesn’t work or doesn’t truly address the needs of its users. One example he gives is a Unilever factory nozzle problem. At first, they enlisted the help of their top mathematician, high-pressure systems, fluid dynamics experts, and others. Long story short, they spent months designing the perfect nozzle on paper, but in real life… it didn’t work. They then switched gears and turned to their team of biologists. Their approach was more practical. Make small changes to the nozzle, test, learn, and use what worked to adapt it until they constantly reach success. According to Syed, 45 generations and 449 failures (or opportunities to learn) later, they had a nozzle that was many times better than the original.
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10’000 ways that won’t work.”
– Thomas Edison –
None of this should actually surprise us. We fundamentally understand the importance of failure for growth. We have invariably, on more than one occasion, heard or even coached others that successful people are not those who never fail. Instead, successful people are those who fail, learn, and grow from it. Easier said than done, right? So, if failure is so important, why is it so hard? For most people, even me, failure is a hard pill to swallow. But it shouldn’t be. We can’t always change the forces and mindsets around us about failure, but we can change our idividaul relationship to it, our mindset.
We could:
- Stop calling them failures but rather learning experiences: “That did not go according to plan. What can I learn from it?”
- Celebrate small wins and progress, not just the result: “What milestones have I achieved along the way? Am I recognizing the value of the journey?”
- Foster a culture of experimentation and curiosity: “Am I encouraging myself and others to try new things?”
- Share your experiences with others: “How can my story of failure and subsequent learning help inspire and guide others?”
- Instead of avoiding too many failures, embrace them. Ask yourself: “Have I failed enough?”
By shifting our perspective on failure, we can transform it from a source of fear and shame into a powerful catalyst for growth, innovation, and, ultimately, success. In the end, it is all about perspective. If we can allow ourselves to embrace failures and learn from them, there is nothing we can’t do. So keep trying and #failforward!
Question is… have you failed often enough?
Fun Fact: Where does the quote even come from?
“Failure is not an option” is a phrase associated with NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz and the Apollo 13 Moon landing mission. Although Kranz is often attributed with having spoken those words during the mission, he did not. The origin of the phrase is from the preparation for the 1995 film Apollo 13 according to FDO Flight Controller Jerry Bostick:
In preparation for the movie, the script writers, Al Reinert and Bill Broyles, came down to Clear Lake to interview me on “What are the people in Mission Control really like?” One of their questions was “Weren’t there times when everybody, or at least a few people, just panicked?” My answer was “No, when bad things happened, we just calmly laid out all the options, and failure was not one of them.” … I immediately sensed that Bill Broyles wanted to leave and assumed that he was bored with the interview. Only months later did I learn that when they got in their car to leave, he started screaming, “That’s it! That’s the tag line for the whole movie, Failure is not an option.”